Strengthening family involvement in early childhood programs became a fundamental component of the Wisconsin Early Childhood Excellence Initiative. The initiative's strategies for encouraging family involvement include: creating a welcoming atmosphere; actively involving parents, children, and other family members in the education process;…

Describes the founding and role of the nonprofit organization Udbhas, which promotes literacy among children in the slums of Calcutta while providing a level of food, clothing, and social and educational experiences generally absent from their homes. Discusses the children's background and identifies problems in bringing learning to these…

Examines the informal support systems of older, recently widowed, urban females. Finds that widows with no sons receive little traditionally male types of support, but that widows with no daughters receive as much traditionally female types of support as those with daughters. (FMW)

Discusses the importance of family and community involvement to student achievement. Schools can establish an effective partnership among schools, families, and the community by providing support for families, creating family-community learning centers, supporting the community, providing opportunities for shared responsibility, facilitating the…

Proposes the home-school connection as a key solution to boost science, mathematics, and technology programs in schools. Suggests that professionals in education must find ways to make connections between school learning and children's learning outside school. Proposes appropriate strategies such as science and mathematics backpacks, minimuseums,…

The multidimensional evaluation of a school project, part of an expanding system of school-linked services or "full-service" schools, is reported. Quantitative and qualitative results are presented. Discussion includes program effectiveness, social workers as mediators between home and school, and the effects of culture and immigration…

Describes a model of comprehensive individualized support for young children (ages 24 to 48 months) with severe developmental disabilities, including autism, based on a triad of essential elements: (1) development of functional communication skills; (2) supported participation in socially inclusive environments; and (3) multifaceted family…

Describes a set of structured experiences within a preservice teacher education program that helped construct, with the students, a critical perspective toward better understanding pupils' home, community, and school lives. The structured experiences occurred within a New Mexico school community research project combined with a course on families,…

In this interview, a female Hispanic principal discusses the challenges, resources, and support involved in implementing a two-way bilingual immersion model in a Hispanic community in Albuquerque (New Mexico). Program success resulted primarily from supportive parents, faculty, and superintendent and the principal's leadership style, which is…

This article sets out a rationale and provides a model for family work by group care practitioners. In doing so it points out that practitioners will need to avoid parent blaming attitudes and become family-centered rather than simply child-focused. Thus the critical issues to be addressed are how to ensure that a group care program is from an…

In considering science in afterschool, research was reviewed and is presented in this document on how students learn science; how science is assessed, particularly inquiry science; recommended practices for afterschool science; and current afterschool science programs. Databases such as ERIC, Wilson Web, and PsychINFO were searched using…

The purpose of this publication is to identify the essential components of appropriate programming mandated by Alberta Education for students with special education needs, to provide examples of effective practices, to establish a common understanding of the terminology associated with this specialized field, and to clarify the meaning of…

Childhood obesity has reached epidemic proportions in the U.S. University health and physical education programs have a unique opportunity to assist in childhood obesity prevention through service-learning programs. However, prior to the implementation of service-learning curricula, it is imperative to gain insight in the unique needs of the…

Early Head Start services are typically offered through home- or center-based delivery models. A formative evaluation of an example of each service delivery model was conducted. The purpose was to examine the issues involved in the implementation of these two service delivery models relative to the content of services, intensity of services,…

Researchers and policymakers have pointed to the lagging scores of eighth graders on international, national, and state assessments as evidence that students are not prepared to meet high academic standards and that middle grades reform is needed. In response to these concerns, educators have introduced reforms designed to provide middle-level…